


tea with honey

by orphan_account



Category: Broadchurch
Genre: Alec Does Not Have Heart Problems, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentioned Abuse, Nightmares, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23390842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: paul works in a coffee shop when a new customer walks in...
Relationships: Ellie Miller & Paul Coates, Paul Coates/Alec Hardy
Kudos: 26





	tea with honey

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cocoaandcupcakes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cocoaandcupcakes/gifts).



It had been a busy morning, busier than normal at least and it had made him more annoyed than usual when he was on the morning shift. He nearly sighed in relief when the morning rush passed and there was the normal lull in activity that came before lunch. Paul glanced back towards the kitchen doors where he could hear Ellie bustling around and probably trying to get the new batch of muffins he asked for ten minutes ago. He perked up when the bell above the door rang and he looked to see Beth walk in, dark bags under her eyes and his eyes softened in sympathy. 

“Hey Beth, your usual?” He asks from behind the counter, and he smiles when Beth nods in approval.

He turns around and prepares the coffee that she likes, he mixes all the ingredients together while the two of them talk. Nothing important, just the normal detached ‘how’s the family, how is Chloe in school’ and he passes her the drink while she gives him the money with an extra five quid that makes him smile gratefully at her. He turned around and handed her the chilled cup, returning to the machine to clean it while Beth took a seat closest to the kitchen door to wait for Ellie to eventually come out. 

He busies himself by wiping down the counter and when Ellie comes out he motions for her to leave the tray of baked goods on the counter so she can go talk to her friend. He drops the towel and washes his hands before sliding out the empty tray and replacing it with the filled one. He falls into a trance of cleaning the blenders and other machines while there’s only a small crowd in the shop and no one else coming in. 

Paul’s pulled out of his focused reverie when the bell rings again and he turns around to greet them but freezes when he looks at them. The man walking towards the counter is unlike anyone else he’s seen come into their small shop, he’s handsome in a rugged and tired way and he swallows convulsively in nervousness. He feels a sharp pressure on his bicep and looks to his left where Ellie had just backhanded him lightly, a knowing smirk on her face. He turned his attention back to the man who had just come up to the counter, a neutral expression on his face as he looked up at the menu.

“Uh, could I just get tea with honey?” He asks nervously and Paul’s surprised by the deep scottish accent he has, he falters for a second before nodding with a smile and turning back towards the machines. 

He has the water already heated and pours it into one of the thick paper cups that he gives people who are on their way. He added the tea bag to the water standing there awkwardly acting like he was doing something productive, not wanting to turn around and make a fool of himself by attempting to talk to him. He felt Ellie come up to his side and look at him with an expectant look, and he turned towards her with a scowl on his face. 

“What?” He asked.

“Aren’t you going to go introduce yourself?” She says cheekily and he sighs, reaching his hand up so he could pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Don’t you have Beth to talk to Ellie?” 

“Nah, she left.” She responds and Paul sighs in defeat, even if she wanted him too he wasn’t going to make something awkward just so he could know the name of a cute guy. 

He puts the plastic lid on the cardboard cup, flashing a glare at Ellie as a warning before putting on his normal bright smile and handing the cup to the man. The man nods his thanks, handing him the money and dropping a few quid into the tip jar, which he couldn’t help but make him like him that much more. He didn’t expect it but Alec goes towards the corner of the room and sits in one of the farthest seats. He doesn’t pull out a laptop to work, simply curls into himself and sips tentatively at his tea, and Paul can’t help but notice how tired and sad that he looked when he didn’t notice anyone watching him. 

He glances around the room, his scowl reappearing at the scattered mugs and napkins that the morning crowd had left behind. He moves around the room picking up the various dirty dishes and trash that was left behind, he smiles tightly in gratitude when he sees Ellie following his lead. He approaches the table across from the man cautiously, gathering the last few napkins from the top of the faux wood when Ellie bumps into him. 

It’s while he’s stumbling towards the man sitting at the corner table that he realizes that Ellie had done this on purpose, and he doesn’t have time to turn and shoot a glare at her. He braces himself with his palms out and closes his eyes in a wince as his wrists strain against the weight of him falling. He opens his eyes and his breath falters when he realizes he’s staring into the other man’s eyes and a blush forms in his cheeks and spreads across his entire face. He was so close that if he shifted any farther forward the tips of their noses would have been touching and as he thought about that Paul’s blush darkened. 

He felt the man’s breath ghosting across his face and he pulled backward abruptly, trying to stutter out a proper apology. He glances down towards the man and is surprised at the blush also coloring his cheeks, and the man nods awkwardly at Paul’s choppy apology. He rights himself and clears his throat, his eyes lingering on the man’s for a few seconds before bending down to pick up the napkins that had fallen onto the floor when Ellie had tripped him. 

He turned away, glaring at Ellie as he passed her, the woman acting oblivious to his anger. He rounds the counter, tossing the napkins into the trash can and quickly placing the dishes in a half-full sink in the back. He looks around the main room for the man, planning on offering him a free refill for earlier but his heart sinks when he can’t find him anywhere. He knows he left when he sees the empty paper cup in the trash near the door and he scowls at Ellie who gives him a genuine apologetic look. 

He resigns himself to never seeing the man again, he wouldn’t come back to his shop if that had happened to him as well. Paul thinks about him while he lays awake in bed staring up at the ceiling, there was something he recognized in the way he looked and sat. It reminded him of himself whenever he had time to get out of his parent’s house and for the first few years after he moved out. He falls asleep with restless thoughts about someone he barely knows. 

||

The next morning he slept in even though it made him feel worse than normal for some reason, he didn’t have to show up until late morning, a relief because that meant he would only have to deal with the lunch rush. When he walked in he greeted Ellie with a nod, still annoyed at what had happened yesterday. As he slides behind the counter he sighs in defeat, Ellie flashes him another apologetic look which he ignores as she enters the kitchen. He falls into a routine of making drinks and handing them off quickly, he’s more tired than usual and doesn’t feel like putting on the normal cheery persona he usually has.

He looks up, about to greet the new customer that just entered when he falters in his words, walking towards him is the man from yesterday. He regains his thoughts just in time to smile and greet him, and he’s mildly comforted by the fact that he asks for the same thing as yesterday, though he doesn’t know why. He goes to prepare the drink and he feels Ellie sidle up to him, sensing the smugness in her step.

“See… I didn’t ruin it for you.” She says slyly and Paul sighs, his lips twitching into a smile at her antics.

“Fine…” he replies begrudgingly, punching her lightly in shoulder as she walks away with a cocky smile on her face. 

He walks towards the counter, handing the man the cup of tea and he watches as he goes and sits in the same spot as yesterday. He stands still in place as he stares at him, he makes up his mind, looking through the display of pastries and choosing one of the regular butter muffins. He brings it over on a plate to the man who looks at him confused and anxious.

“I- I didn’t order this?” He stutters out, the scottish accent making Paul smile. 

“No… I uh just thought that since you left early I never got to actually apologize for stumbling into you and wanted to do it today.” The man smiles back tentatively and takes the plate, muttering a quiet thank you before going back to sipping his tea. 

They form a weird relationship, he comes in around the same time everyday and orders the same thing and he’ll give him the same muffin as the first day. He had soon found out that anything with grease or caffeine he avoided for a reason that he couldn’t place. It was around a week into the process that he found out the man’s name, Alec, and that he worked as a waiter at a fancy restaurant, he also had a pet cat. And he couldn’t help but equate it as taming a feral cat, if he got to close or did something wrong he would run off or lash out.

It’s when his feral cat didn’t show up for the first day in weeks he had thought he was busy, but after three days he had started to worry. It was on the fifth day when he shows up and at first he’s happy that he’s there but then he glances over his entire body. He’s wearing a sweatshirt and jeans rather than his normal button up and slacks, and on his face square in the middle of his eye is a dark bruise. 

He stays frozen at the counter looking at him in disbelief, when Alec comes up to the counter he smiles but it doesn’t have the usual brightness about it like it usually does when they talk. He wordlessly nods and prepares the same thing he always gets, handing it to him as he continues to look at Alec with worry curling in his chest. 

Paul asks for Ellie to cover him for now and when he gestures towards Alec subtly in which she nods and quietly takes his place. The barista brings over a plate with the other man’s favorite muffin, something he rarely did bring out because of how popular it was. He set it down in front of him and he couldn’t help but notice that his usual curled in posture was tighter than he had ever seen it and his heart twisted. He takes a seat across from the other man, the two of them sitting in silence before Alec looks over towards him a frown twisted on his face.

“What?” He asks quietly.

“I just… wanted to know if you were okay?” He asks carefully.

“Bloody hell…” he mutters.

“Yes, I’m fine I got the bruise from a fight I had with a punk at the bar.” he answered and Paul desperately wanted to believe him, but everything about the way he said it to the way he fidgeted with the sleeve of his sweatshirt told him it was a lie.

“No… I know you’re not, I may not know you well but I have a feeling that you haven’t talked about this or told anyone.” He responds quietly and Alec looks down at his shoes in guilt.

“S’ nothing, my girlfriend she just didn't like that I said something, she does it all the time… but we’re done now.” He mutters, and Paul feels anger well up in his throat because yes this is definitely something. But, something tells him that yelling at Alec or trying to get him to tell someone about this would be the wrong move. 

The two of them sit there in a comfortable silence Alec sipping his tea and taking chunks off the muffin to nibble at. He doesn’t know how long he sits there but the weird feeling on the back of his neck tells him that someone is looking at him. When he turns around Ellie is looking at him pointedly, not outright telling him to hurry up but to say that she also had a specific job she needed to do. Paul clears his throat and Alec looks towards him expectantly.

“You can stay here as long as you want, I don’t know if you have anywhere else you’d rather go but you’re welcome to stay as long as you want.” He says softly, smiling tightly when Alec nods and he leaves him to his slowly disappearing muffin.

||

It’s over a few weeks after that he watches as Alec slowly begins to open up. Until one day he realizes that his curled posture is now one that exudes comfort. He’s leaned forward, his head propped in his chin with his elbow on the table as he watches Paul talk about whatever he had thought would entertain the man across from him. 

Their relationship progresses after that, he thinks to himself that he’s officially tamed the feral cat. He takes his breaks when Alec sits down at what Paul’s declared his table, at least in his mind. They talk about nothing mostly, he learns that he wanted to be a detective, that he’s from Scotland and moved here as a teenager, and that his favorite food is fish and chips but he hasn’t had it in a while because he couldn’t find a place he could eat at. 

It’s over a month in when Alec asks for them to go on a walk together and Paul’s confused and filled with surprise but accepts the offer. As they’re walking down the sidewalk, it being mostly clear of people because of the hour of day. 

“I have to tell you something…” Alec murmurs and Paul looks at him quizzically, his soft gaze enough for the other man to continue.

“I’m uh… I’m trans…” He mutters even quieter, Paul barely able to catch what he’d said.

“Okay.” He responds with a shrug, “Thanks for telling me,” he continues with a gentle grin painted on his lips.

Alec whips his head towards him, surprised at how nonchalant the barista was, when he has told his girlfriend she had looked at him with disappointment before ignoring him for two days. He doesn’t think he’s met anyone who didn’t care about it or acted like it didn’t affect them personally, it seemed too good to be true. The barista that had butted into his life had become one of the best people he’s ever known. It was like a wave that washed over him as he realized he cared about him more than he had anyone in the last year, he liked him and that was something that rarely happened nowadays. 

“Do you want to go out for dinner? Likeonadate?” Alec asks nervously, the last part rushing out so fast it’s little more than a tangle of words. 

It was Paul’s turn to look at him in shock, staring unblinking at Alec as he processed what he had just asked. He swallowed as he thought about how many times he imagined this scenario, he had never thought that it would ever happen. He blinked a few times as he continued to process before his gaze softened and his mouth broke into a bright grin. 

“I’d love too, Alec. Do you want me to plan it?” He asked, and his grin widened when Alec nodded sheepishly.

||

Paul rubbed the palms of his hands on his jeans, he was nervous, more nervous than usual with his other dates. He swallowed convulsively when he saw Alec waiting by the door to the restaurant, it was fancier than he would normally bring someone but he wanted to impress the other man. His fingers fidget against the seam of his pants, he’s tempted to reach out and hold Alec’s hand but he doesn’t know if the other man would appreciate the gesture. He opens the door and motions for Alec to go ahead of him as he holds it open, and he feels a small spot of warmth in his chest when he sees Alec’s smile. 

The pair of them get led towards an empty table in the corner, Paul smiles tightly as he pulls the chair out for him. Alec clears his throat awkwardly as he sits down and Paul sits across from them, the barista can’t help but notice how on-edge the other man looks as they stare at each other nervously. Alec keeps glancing around as if he’s looking for someone, Alec freezes as he spots someone and Paul looks towards them. It’s a tall and broad man with sandy blonde hair and a bright smile that doesn’t look like it’s been faked. 

He hears Alec’s breath catch in his chest when the man turns around and spots him sitting across from Paul. The barista tenses as well when he sees the man approaching them he wants nothing more but to grab Alec’s hand to reassure him. The man stops at their table, a delicate frown on his face as he looks between the two of them before looking at Alec unwaveringly. 

“What are you doing here Alec?” He says gruffly, playing it off as a simple question when judging by the way Alec curls in on himself it’s much more than that.

“I’m just going out with a friend,” He responds shakily, his voice wavering as he looks at the man.

“Just a friend then?” He says accusingly, and Alec flinches. Paul clears his throat to get their attention and both Alec and the man turn towards him.

“We’re trying to have a peaceful dinner, so if you don’t mind leaving us to enjoy it in peace please do so.” He said coldly, making it clear that he was not welcome.

Alec’s eyes widen and the man scowls at him, his lip twitching as if he wants to say something but he stops himself. The man walks away and he looks towards Alec once again whose face is practically radiating relief and Paul feels guilt bloom in his chest. If he was going to be on-edge and anxious this entire meal what type of date would he be, definitely a horrible one. 

“How about we go find somewhere else to eat, besides the fancy thing was never really my thing anyway.” Paul says with a soft smile on his face, Alec returns it with his own that makes Paul’s heart melt.

The pair of them stood up walking out of the restaurant side by side and Alec sighs as the cool night air hits his face, which Paul now notices was flushed red. He nudges Alec lightly, and when he looks towards him Paul tilts his head to the side, motioning for them to walk that way.

“I know this nice plaza, has a bunch of food trucks that are open at night?” He offers and Alec nods in approval. 

The two of them walk close together, their knuckles brushing with each step and he has to refrain himself from grabbing Alec’s hand and holding it in his own. As they reach the plaza he sees Alec’s eyes widen, it’s larger than most people expect, planters filled with shrubbery and cement walls where people can sit while eating. At this time of year there are lights strung in the trees and hanging across the plaza, making it look like somewhere out of a fairy tale. 

He leads Alec towards one of the trucks, it offers fish and chips that are not drenched in oil, he knows that the other man never ordered the pastries for that reason. He looked at the other man to see if there was any sign that he didn’t want to eat here, the only thing betraying his emotions, the twitch of his lips, appearing as if he was trying to keep from smiling. They each ordered their food, Paul leading him towards a more secluded part of the plaza where none of the other couples or families were occupying. 

The pair of them sat next to each other on one of the concrete planters, eating their food in silence, just enjoying each other's company. When Alec set aside the now-empty cardboard plate he looked up at the strung lights, sighing wistfully. Paul set aside his own plate and looked towards the other man, a question on the tip of his tongue. 

“Who was that… at the restaurant?” He asks tentatively and Alec sighs. 

“His name’s Dave, he’s my ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend, also the person she cheated on me with. He… never took kindly to me being mad that she cheated on me, even called me her girlfriend sometimes.” He ducked his head and swallowed nervously, his finger fidgeting on his jeans.

“Not that treated me well anyways, she uh, wasn’t good to me, hit me sometimes, didn’t let me do things I wanted, she sometimes called me her girlfriend or other choice words when she was mad at me. But, I’m kinda glad he came along, but I still never want to see either of them ever again.” He says quietly and Paul can’t stop himself as he brushes his fingers along one of Alec’s hands.

Alec freezes for a few seconds before smiling at him sadly, Paul’s heart stutters in his chest when Alec twines their fingers together. His hand is warm and boney like the rest of him, and his hand feels perfect in Paul’s own. He knows that Alec doesn’t want him to say anything or comment about the situation, just wants the comfort of someone who wouldn’t judge. They sat like that for several minutes, calm as they looked out at the greenery that was covered in lights. Paul rubbed his thumb lightly against Alec’s own, this felt like it was perfect, literally everything was. The fingers of his other hand fidgeted on the rough concrete, as he made up his mind. 

“Alec?” 

“Hm?” he answered in question.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked nervously and Alec looked over, less alarmed then he thought he would be. He smiles and nods. Paul wants to breathe a sigh of relief but instead he tilts his head, and ducks down slowly. He kisses him softly and closed-mouth, his other hand brushing along Alec’s knee tentatively. 

Alec breaks the kiss, breathing against Paul’s lips, their foreheads touching and the warmth in Paul’s chest spreads to his cheeks as he chuckles quietly. He stands taking both of their plates in one hand and keeping Alec’s in the other, he tosses the cardboard dishes in a garbage bin and follows Alec’s lead this time.

The scruffier man leads him through the streets, he recognizes the way for the first half but by the third street he barely knows where he is. Alec pauses and looks at Paul, swallowing nervously and squeezing the barista’s hand. 

“Do you want to come up?” He asks and Paul’s eyes widen in surprise at the proposition and he watches as Alec panics momentarily.

“No, no, no, no I didn’t mean it like that… just uh, maybe you want to spend the night?” He asks anxiously and Paul breathes a quiet sigh of relief, he didn’t know what he was going to do if Alec had wanted that. He nods in approval and Alec smiles tenderly before practically dragging the barista inside the lobby.

||

Paul brings him out several more times, sometimes he would bring him back to the plaza he had first brought him, other times they would eat at different places. His favorite time had been when Alec had asked him to meet him somewhere he had never gone, when he arrived he was confused as to why it was an animal shelter. He walked in and his heart nearly melted when he saw Alec standing there, holding a puppy in his arms, smiling wistfully down at the sleeping creature. It was that day that he realized he was in love with him, it hit him like a wave and he for once he was happy that he had never learned how to swim. 

It was like Alec could tell that he had fallen in love, he started to invite him over more, cuddling up to him on the couch or nuzzling his neck and begging for attention. He was happy to give it, leaving kisses on the back of his neck and holding him close as they sat together or his fingers running through his hair while Alec read through documents at the kitchen table. 

It’s around the fifth or sixth time that he’s staying over at Alec’s and the second time he allowed himself to sleep in the same bed as him when he’s jostled awake. He looks around through bleary eyes trying to figure out through his sleep addled mind what exactly had woken him. He looks over towards Alec and his mind sobers immediately when he sees the man beside him grimacing, little whimpers falling from his lips and heaving in air like he can’t breathe. He leans over and shakes him lightly, grimacing himself when Alec shoots upward gasping for air, his sweat-soaked hair hanging limply from his head. 

He looks over towards the barista whose laying propped up on his forearms, gazing at him worriedly. He sighs, knowing it was only a matter of time before he found out but he had wanted a little more time with him before he inevitably cut things off. 

“Sorry… it was nothing…” he says quietly, wincing slightly at the blatant look of disbelief in the barista’s eyes. 

“Was jus’ a nightmare that’s all,” he continued awkwardly, waiting for the usual rough shove and stern ‘go back to sleep’ that he got from Tess when he accidentally woke her.

He wanted desperately to take off his shirt that was damp with sweat, uncomfortable against his skin but he didn’t want Paul to see the other scars he had besides the ones under his pectorals. He looked away from the barista not wanting him to see how vulnerable he actually was right now, he tensed when he felt the familiar pressure of his hand on his shoulder. 

“Love, it’s okay you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to but I think you’d feel better if you did…” He says softly, and just with those few words the dam breaks. 

“You know how I said I wanted to become a detective?” He asks nervously to which Paul nods gently.

“Well… the reason I couldn’t is because while I was a cop I uh… got wounded in action while helping on a case, and I just… can’t seem to get over it.” He says shakily, tears welling in his eyes as he looks towards his boyfriend.

“Oh love, it’s okay… there’s no reason to be worried, it’s not your fault that you went through something like that.” The barista responds, bringing his hand down to rub Alec’s back soothingly. 

He grits his teeth as tears roll down his cheeks, why is Paul so nice? He knows that he’s a fucked up man who is barely even that and yet this perfect man beside him is so kind and he just doesn’t understand. He whimpers and laughs humorlessly, bringing his hand up to rub the palms into his eyes. He looks over at Paul, he takes his other hand in his own, kissing the knuckles lightly gazing at him through teary and tired eyes before leaning into him. 

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you…” He says staring blankly ahead.

“Absolutely nothing my love, you deserve someone much better than me… I’m nothing but a recovering drunk who makes coffee.” He says with a chuckle and Alec tilts his head to look at him, surprised at what he said not expecting it in the slightest.

“You’re one of the best people I know, Paul. Mistakes you made in your past don’t affect that…” He responds, and he knows how much of a hypocrite he must sound like. 

That night set in motion a series of events that eventually led to Paul practically moving in with Alec; though never officially, Alec still wasn’t ready to say it outloud after Tess. Alec had wordlessly emptied a drawer for the barista to put some of his clothes in, though some of his shirts can begun to disappear and reappear on Alec.They had also quickly found out that Alec’s nightmares had not been as frequent ever since that night, though Alec would never admit that sharing his feelings had helped. 

The two of them were sitting together on the couch in his living room, the weighted blanket he had gotten for Alec draped over the two of them. They had tried to watch a movie but had quickly abandoned it when Alec had trailed his fingers up Paul’s bicep and kissed him, which had rapidly formed in messily making out. 

Paul had his arm wrapped around Alec’s waist, his lips brushing his hairline as he fell in and out of a doze. He startled slightly when he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder but he then smiled when he saw Alec had fallen asleep, his head lolling to the side and resting on his shoulder. He was so peaceful next to him he didn’t have the heart to move so that he could bring him back to his bed, besides he was comfortable enough here. His eyes drooped as he settled into a comfortable position, and with the TV as white noise he fell asleep feeling like the luckiest person in the world.


End file.
